Iranian optimism fades after Khamenei doubts success of US talks

Iranian enrichment

"Once you know how to enrich at any level, all you need is time to be able to enrich at a higher level. And they've already proven the ability to enrich at a higher level. In fact, they have and are doing so now," Rubio said on Tuesday.

"They claim that enrichment is a matter of national pride. It is our view that they want enrichment as a deterrent, they believe that it makes them a threshold nuclear power, and as a result, becomes untouchable," Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "That is the crux of the situation we're facing right now."

"Our hope is that we can encourage them to show them a path towards prosperity and peace that allow them to develop their economy, that allow them, if they want, to have a civil nuclear energy program like other countries around the world have - without enrichment."

Terrorism, missile sanctions

"Obviously we're aware of their sponsorship of terrorism in the region, including the Houthis and Hezbollah and other groups such as these, the militias in Iraq and their efforts to get back into Syria. Right now, the focus at this point of (the talks) has been their enrichment capability and their insistence on enrichment capability," Rubio said.

"Ultimately, I would say that if in fact we have sanctions that are related to the sponsorship of terrorism and a violation of weapons conventions and the like, their long-range munitions—those sanctions will remain. If those aren't part of the deal, then the sanctions will remain as a result of that," he added.

"The focus of the conversations over the last few weeks with (US special envoy) Witkoff and the Iranians has been on this enrichment matter, which is by far sort of the core and most critical matter."

Maximum pressure

"The administration sanctioned 72 entities, 14 individuals, 74 vessels, as well as 18 additional entities, including two Chinese-based oil terminals, 13 vessels," Rubio said.

"I think the maximum pressure campaign is working. We're already seeing a reduction in Iran's ability to fund destabilizing operations across the region ... we're going to continue with sanctions until there's a deal," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"The administration’s maximum pressure campaign has secured the release of the last living American hostage held by Hamas, a pledge by the Houthis to abandon attacks on American ships and forced Iran to beg for talks with the United States," Rubio said earlier in the day in prepared remarks submitted to the committee.

European sanctions

"There's a separate set of sanctions out there, which are the snapback provisions that the E3 in Europe have," Rubio said, referring to Britain, France and Germany - the European signatories to a lapsed 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

"That's on another clock, completely different from ours ... Now, maybe we'll do a deal with Iran and they'll be satisfied with it and not impose their sanctions," he added.

"They are moving forward on their process, independent from ours."

“There’s a chance that there could be a nuclear deal that doesn’t have some of the shortcomings of the previous nuclear deal that could enable the lifting of sanctions progressively and so forth as confidence is built,” Petraeus said during a panel discussion at the Qatar Economic Forum 2025.

“And that could lead to them being a more constructive player in the region than they certainly have been for many decades.”

Asked whether Iran could be “brought back into the fold” like Syria, Petraeus responded: “That’s overly optimistic.”

He pointed to Iran’s role in supporting its allied forces in the region such as the Houthis in Yemen. “Assuming Iran then also stops some of the terrible activities that they’re doing through proxies in the region which have been so destabilizing, then you can start to see the contours of something that could be much more positive.”

Petraeus said there are signs of narrowing differences between Washington and Tehran, and a possible compromise could include restrictions on uranium enrichment for a limited period.

“Maybe that ends up being for three years and then you have an opportunity to do something small again. But you can actually see this deal starting to come together,” he said.

Amid indirect Iran-US talks, US President Donald Trump has insisted Iran must fully cease enrichment, leading Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to warn on Tuesday that talks look unlikely to progress under those conditions.

On Sunday, Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff told ABC News: “We cannot allow even one percent of an enrichment capability. Everything begins from our standpoint with a deal that does not include enrichment. We cannot have that.”

On the question of regime change, Petraeus dismissed it as unrealistic. “You have to deal with the world the way it is, not the way you would like it to be. And I never thought that regime change was at all realistic, frankly.”

"Indirect negotiations took place (under Raisi) as well—just like now—but without results,” Khamenei said during a memorial ceremony for the late president and others killed in a helicopter crash last May. “We do not think it would yield results now either. We do not know what will happen.”

Turning to US calls for zero uranium enrichment, Khamenei said: “Since negotiations have come up, I want to give a warning to the opposing side. The American side that engages in these indirect talks and have discussions, should try not to spout nonsense.

"Saying things like 'we won’t allow Iran to enrich uranium' is way out of line. No one is waiting for anyone’s permission. The Islamic Republic has its own policy, its own approach, and it will continue to pursue it."

US President Donald Trump’s envoy to the Middle East on Sunday said Washington will not accept any level of uranium enrichment in a potential agreement with Tehran.

“We cannot allow even one percent of an enrichment capability,” Steven Witkoff told ABC News. “Everything begins from our standpoint with a deal that does not include enrichment. We cannot have that.”

Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful and Khamenei said that he would explain "at a later date" why the issue of enrichment is such a key focus of the talks, leaving the issue open.

On Monday, the United Arab Emirates-based The National cited an Iranian official as saying that Iran had not accepted Oman's invitation for a fifth round of talks with the US due to take place in Rome.

The American officials' insistence on "zero enrichment" has left Iran uncertain about the usefulness of more talks, the report said.

"Iran does not want to have another round of talks and them to fail", the official was quoted as saying. "With zero enrichment, we don't have a deal."

Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state enriching uranium to 60% U-235, a level that causes "serious concern," according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

The IAEA has consistently maintained that there is no credible civilian use for uranium enriched to this level, which is a short technical step from weapons-grade 90% fissile material.

Iran's stockpile of 60% enriched uranium had increased to 275 kg, enough to theoretically make about half a dozen weapons if Iran further enriches the uranium.

Earlier in the day before Khamenei's speech, deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran has received a proposal for the next round of indirect negotiations with the United States.

“We have received a proposal about the next round of negotiations with the US, and it is under review,” Gharibabadi told state media without providing further details.

In a scathing editorial, Javan daily criticized the threat of snapback — a mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal that allows the return of UN sanctions — as a “European stick for blackmail” and warned of punitive and high-cost actions against the economies of the United States and Europe.

The editorial said such sanctions would be countered with restrictions in trade routes and geographies under Iran's control, adding that these areas would expand through alignment with other actors "frustrated by US and European policies.”

"The US and European economies should expect punishment and cost-imposing actions. The sanctions will be followed by bans and restrictions on their access to routes and geographies under Iranian control. These geographies, motivated by other actors frustrated with US and European policies, will expand into major commercial corridors," it said.

While Javan did not name locations directly, the paper implied that Iran could disrupt major trade corridors such as the Strait of Hormuz, where a significant portion of the world's oil passes, and possibly the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, through Tehran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, as has been seen since the militant group imposed a maritime blockade in the wake of the war in Gaza.

“Any new sanctions must be met with real costs,” the editorial said, adding that the current Iranian negotiating position is no longer based on “Westoxicated thinking” but on firm demands for compensation and full sanctions relief from the outset of any agreement.

The paper said that Iran would only allow meaningful negotiations if its rights to enrichment and the preservation of enriched uranium stocks are recognized, and if all material and immaterial damages from what it called “illegal and inhumane” sanctions are paid in full.

'Trump eyes Arab wealth, not Iran investment'

Amid the ongoing indirect US-Iran nuclear talks, the editorial targeted US President Donald Trump, Javan accusing him of having no intention or ability to invest in Iran, saying his only objective is to “loot the wealth of Arab countries” to patch up America’s struggling economy.

“Trump, who is chasing after the pockets of Arab states, has no capacity for investment in any country,” the editorial stated. “He only dreams of healing the crisis-hit American economy.”

The piece mocked Trump’s recent regional tour and his military posture, claiming that US aircraft carriers and advanced weaponry had underperformed in conflicts such as Yemen and South Asia.

It argued that despite Trump’s rhetoric, “the US military's threatening gestures lack economic backing and have led to humiliating failure against Iran and China,” adding that Washington’s strategy had shifted to diplomacy out of necessity.

The editorial dismissed recent remarks by Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who said that the US would not tolerate even 1% uranium enrichment by Iran, as bluster intended to sway negotiations and distract from Washington’s weak hand.

“This time, Iran is not negotiating with illusions, but with demands. If the West wants a deal, it must stop threatening, start compensating, and lift sanctions from day one,” the editorial added.

On Monday, the European Union and the United Kingdom voiced deep concern over Iran’s expanding nuclear program and its continued imprisonment of foreign nationals, according to a joint statement issued after high-level talks.

“We have received a proposal regarding the next round of indirect talks between Iran and the US, and it is under review,” Gharibabadi, who serves as deputy for legal and international affairs, said in remarks published by the state media.

No further details about the content or timing of the proposed negotiations have been released.

The comments come a day after a Wall Street Journal reporter said that the next round of Iran-US nuclear talks is expected to take place this weekend in Rome.

However, citing an Iranian official, the United Arab Emirates' based The National reported that Iran has "not accepted" Oman's invitation for a fifth round of talks with the US.

It said that American officials' insistence on "zero enrichment" has left officials in Iran uncertain about the usefulness of more talks.